Favorite Teams

09.10.2013 | SPRINGFIELD -- Firefighters mass in front of a house at 220 Ambrose St. early Tuesday morning in the city's Pine Point neighborhood. A 34-year-old resident of the home sustained burns to 80 percent of her body.
(Springfield Fire Department | Dennis G. Leger)

SPRINGFIELD – Unattended cooking was the cause of a fire that severely burned a 34-year-old Ambrose Street woman early Tuesday, the Springfield arson and bomb squad has determined.

The blaze was reported shortly after 3:50 a.m. at 220 Ambrose St. The injured woman, Opal Sanders, was burned on the face, arms and torso, officials said.

Sanders was taken to Baystate Medical Center where she was treated and then transferred to another hospital, a spokesman said. The name of that hospital and Sanders’ condition, was not available Thursday.

A pet dog also was injured in the fire. Animal control officers took the dog to the VIA Boston Road Animal Hospital for smoke inhalation treatment, Leggier said.

It took officials about 3 minutes to arrive at the Ambrosia Street home, which resembles a barn with a flat roof and is located between Aberdeen and Devonshire roads just east of St. Michael’s Cemetery. Police officers were first to arrive on scene, Leger said.

Neighbors reported hearing Sanders banging on an upstairs window. “The cops tried to make entry, but they were driven back by intense smoke and heat,“ Leger said.

Leger has said that unattended cooking is the most common cause of fires in Springfield.